A manual on the rise of fundamentalism for the religious and irreligious alike

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	• The Battle for God Karen Armstrong Ballantine Books, 2001 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 124 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Decent history but painted over with a progressive ideology.

First and foremost, in `The Battle for God', Karen Armstrong demonstrates her knowledge of religious history by chronicling the manner in which religious adherents of the three monotheisms have struggled to preserve their faith against growing challenges presented to them since the Enlightenment. In doing so, she offers an explanation on how the modern Fundamentalist movement has come into existence, and why at the turn of the 21st Century it poses such a severe threat to the values of modern culture. Considering the abysmal knowledge possessed by most Westerners regarding religious Fundamentalism, `The Battle for God' should make a significant contribution in dispelling this blindness.

However, while Miss. Armstrong's grasp of history is praiseworthy, I find it difficult to compliment her approach to sociology and religious essence. Her primary assertion is that militant literalism is a new phenomenon, fabricated as a reaction against the growth of secularism; a bold theory that lacks any substantial evidence. Miss. Armstrong's usage of the term `Fundamentalism' is also too liberal for comfort, strengthening the impression that much of her evaluations on the beliefs of religious adherents through history are coloured by her own `progressive religious' persuasions, and an attempt to historically justify such beliefs.

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Outstanding, Lucid, most helpful

This is the Go-To text on Fundamentalism in religions. Very insightful, very well written, very understandable. Characteristic performance by a good author.

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A manual on the rise of fundamentalism for the religious and irreligious alike

A carefully crafted history of fundamentalism from a erudite, deep thinker. Enlightening in view of present global tensions especially.
Norman Gage Western Australia

The Battle for God

I found the book somewhat difficult to stick with. It sort of drug on for me.

a mixed bag- better re distant past

Pretty good in the first half, since it gives a lot of information about premodern religions (and also, of course, because I'm not knowledgeable enough to spot whatever factual errors there are). She doesn't tie it all together in one neat theoretical pile; but her discussion is interesting enough to camouflage that.

Her distinction between mythos (narratives which are of moral value regardless of their factual accuracy) and logos (pure reason) makes sense to me, even though I question her assertion that it made sense to adherents of premodern religion.

In the last half, this book weakens quite a bit: she has a strong bias in favor of moral equivalence that doesn't hold up real well after 9/11. As a result, she gives every benefit of the doubt to Islam, and is less generous to Christianity and Judaism.

For example, in describing Islamic pogroms in the 1920s, she writes: "On August 24, 1929, during a period of great tension between Arabs and Zionists in Palestine, fifty-nine Jewish men, women and children had been massacred in Hebron." The reference to "great tension between Arabs and Zionists" implies moral equivalency- its not just random murder, it was just "tension" manifesting itself. And note that she doesn't say who did the massacring. I wouldn't describe this as conscious bias; to be fair, I don't think Hamas types would use the term "massacre." But nevertheless I get the sense she is trying a little too hard to be fair to the Arabs.

And in describing 1980s Arab terrorism: "Surrounded by 46,000 militant Jewish settlers, the Arabs became frightened and some resorted to violence." Given that there are, oh, two dozen Arab nations surrounding Israel and trying to wipe it out, the notion that the poor terrorists became "frightened" of Israel seems hard to believe.. In addition, her grasp of Judaism (the religion with which I am most familiar) is none too sure.

A couple of factual errors that I noticed:

*"traditional, conservative faith ... took it for granted that reason could not demonstrate the truth of the kind of myths found in the scriptures." In fact, the Kuzari (13th c. or so) purports to demonstrate the proof of the relevation at Sinai, and thus of Judaism. (Just google "kuzari proof" for lots of arguments pro and con).

*"Before a Jew attends a synagogue service, he bathes in the mikveh, a ritual bath." This may occasionally be true of Hasidim; but the notion that this is the norm for even Orthodox Jews is flat out wrong. (I have more or less regularly attended Orthodox congregations for four of the past five years, and have only heard the word "mikveh" in reference to (a) women or (b) purifying cookware and silverware).

A look at the hostile reviews shows some polarization among readers. Liberal Christians and secularists seem to like this book; religious Jews, conservatives (especially Christian conservatives) and even secular hawks tend to dislike it.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

In our supposedly secular age governed by reason and technology, fundamentalism has emerged as an overwhelming force in every major world religion. Why? This is the fascinating, disturbing question that bestselling author Karen Armstrong addresses in her brilliant new book The Battle for God. Writing with the broad perspective and deep understanding of human spirituality that won huge audiences for A History of God, Armstrong illuminates the spread of militant piety as a phenomenon peculiar to our moment in history.

Contrary to popular belief, fundamentalism is not a throwback to some ancient form of religion but rather a response to the spiritual crisis of the modern world. As Armstrong argues, the collapse of a piety rooted in myth and cult during the Renaissance forced people of faith to grasp for new ways of being religious--and fundamentalism was born. Armstrong focuses here on three fundamentalist movements: Protestant fundamentalism in America, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran--exploring how each has developed its own unique way of combating the assaults of modernity.

Blending history, sociology, and spirituality, The Battle for God is a compelling and compassionate study of a radical form of religious expression that is critically shaping the course of world history.

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